Roll accommodation unit, processing apparatus, and roll setting method

ABSTRACT

A roll accommodation unit includes: a roll support shaft; a pair of side walls; and a pair of roll bearings that are attached to the pair of side walls, recessed portions are formed at upper ends of the pair of side walls, the pair of rolling bearings are attached to the side walls at positions corresponding to bottoms of the recessed portions such that the rolling bearings project upward beyond inclined surfaces of the recessed portions, the roll support shaft includes a support shaft main body, and a pair of small-diameter portions that are provided at both ends of the support shaft main body, and the roll support shaft is supported with the small-diameter portions abutting on outer circumferential surfaces of the pairs of rolling bearings in a state in which the support shaft main body is located at an interval from the recessed portions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Division of U.S. application Ser. No. 17/313,720filed on May 6, 2021, which is based on Japanese Patent Application No.2020-84482, the contents of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a roll accommodation unit, a processingapparatus adapted to pull out a continuous sheet from a roll andperforms processing thereon, and a roll setting method.

2. Description of Related Art

In the related art, apparatuses adapted to pull out continuous sheetsfrom rolls and perform processing thereon such as an apparatus adaptedto unwind a transfer paper from a transfer paper roll in the form of acontinuous sheet, form images on the unwound transfer paper, then cutthe transfer paper at every specific length, gather a predeterminednumber of cut transfer papers, and bind up the transfer papers into abook (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No.9-52653, for example) and an apparatus adapted to unwind a label basepaper from a label base paper roll in the form of a continuous sheetwhile separating the base paper into a surface paper and a releasepaper, perform stamping on the surface paper, and then attach thesurface paper to the release paper again to manufacture a labelcontinuous product (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application,Publication No. 2019-181780, for example) are known.

Such an apparatus typically includes a roll accommodation unit thataccommodates a roll of a continuous sheet such that the roll isrotatable about a horizontal axis.

The roll accommodation unit includes, for example, a roll support shaft28 to which a roll 27 is attached and a pair of roll support arms 25 and25 that are provided at a frame 24 of the apparatus and can horizontallysupport the roll support shaft 28 to which the roll 27 is attached asillustrated in FIG. 9 .

Also, bearings 30 and 30 with a larger diameter than that of the rollsupport shaft 28 are coaxially and detachably attached to both ends ofthe roll support shaft 28.

Each of the pair of roll support arms 25 and 25 has a thicknesscorresponding to the thickness of each bearing 30, and a recessedportion 31 that receives the bearing 30 is formed at an intermediateportion of an upper end surface of each roll support arm 25.

Moreover, a pair of bearing guides 26 a and 26 b are provided on bothsides of the upper end surface of each roll support arm 25 to projecttherefrom and extend from a distal end of the roll support arm 25 towardthe recessed portion 31.

A core of the roll 27 includes, at both ends thereof, securing rings 29,and attachment of the roll 27 to the roll support shaft 28 is performedby detaching the bearing 30 from one end of the roll support shaft 28,then inserting the roll support shaft 28 into the core of the roll 27from the side of the one end up to a portion before the bearing 30 atthe other end of the roll support shaft 28, then securing the roll 27 tothe roll support shaft 28 with the securing rings 29, and then attachingthe bearing 30 again to the one end of the roll support shaft.

Also, the bearings 30 and 30 at both ends of the roll support shaft 28to which the roll 27 is attached are placed on distal ends of the upperend surfaces of the pair of roll support arms 25 and 25, the rollsupport shaft 28 is caused to roll around on the upper end surfaces ofthe pair of roll support arms 25 and 25 toward the recessed portions 31along with the roll 27 with each bearing 30 guided by a related one ofthe pairs of bearing guides 26 a and 26 b, and at the timing at whicheach bearing 30 is fitted into a related one of the recessed portions31, loading of the roll 27 on the roll accommodation unit is completed.

Also, in such a continuous sheet processing apparatus, the previous roll27 is detached from the roll accommodation unit, and a new roll 27 isloaded thereon when the remaining amount of the roll 27 is reduced to aspecific amount or when the size, the type, or the like of thecontinuous sheet is to be changed.

However, since the bearings 30 and 30 with a larger diameter than thatof the roll support shaft 28 are attached to both ends of the rollsupport shaft 28 in this configuration, it is necessary to constantlyperform an operation of detaching one bearing 30 out of the two bearings30 and 30 from the roll support shaft 28 and attaching the bearing 30again when the roll 27 is attached to the roll support shaft 28 or isdetached from the roll support shaft 28.

Therefore, there is a problem that attachment and detachment of the rollto and from the roll support shaft require time and efforts and it thustakes a time to perform an operation of loading a roll on the continuoussheet processing apparatus.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to enable the operationof loading a roll on a continuous sheet processing apparatus to beeasily performed in a short period of time.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In order to solve the aforementioned problem, the present inventionprovides a roll accommodation unit that accommodates a roll of acontinuous sheet such that the roll is rotatable about a horizontalaxis, the roll accommodation unit including: a roll support shaft towhich the roll is attached; a pair of side walls that are disposed at aninterval in a horizontal direction along the horizontal axis; and a pairof roll bearings that are attached to each of the pair of side walls andare disposed at an interval in a width direction of the side walls, inwhich recessed portions with substantially V shapes along the widthdirection are formed at upper ends of the pair of side walls, the pairsof rolling bearings are attached to the side walls at positionscorresponding to bottoms of the recessed portions such that the rollingbearings project upward beyond inclined surfaces of the recessedportions, the roll support shaft includes a support shaft main body thathas a length corresponding to a distance between outer surfaces of thepair of side walls, and a pair of small-diameter portions that areprovided at both ends of the support shaft main body and have smallerouter diameters than an outer diameter of the support shaft main body,and the roll support shaft is supported with the small-diameter portionsabutting on outer circumferential surfaces of the pairs of rollingbearings in a state in which the support shaft main body is located atan interval from the recessed portions.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rollsupport shaft includes a large-diameter portion that is disposed to beadjacent to one end side of the roll support shaft relative to thesmall-diameter portions and has a larger outer diameter than the outerdiameters of the small-diameter portions.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a flangeportion provided at an interval corresponding to a thickness of the sidewalls from an end portion of the support shaft main body is formed atthe support shaft main body on the one end side of the roll supportshaft.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rollaccommodation unit includes: a bottom wall with a front surface on whichthe pair of side walls are provided to stand from the bottom wall; and aplurality of casters that are attached to a rear surface of the bottomwall.

In order to solve the aforementioned problem, the present inventionprovides a processing apparatus including: a roll accommodation unitthat accommodates a roll of a continuous sheet such that the roll isrotatable about a horizontal axis; and a main body that pulls out thecontinuous sheet from the roll accommodation unit and performsprocessing on the continuous sheet, in which the roll accommodation unitincludes a roll support shaft to which the roll is attached, a pair ofside walls that are disposed at an interval in a horizontal directionalong the horizontal axis, and a pair of rolling bearings that areattached to the pair of side walls and are disposed at an interval in awidth direction of the side walls, recessed portions with substantiallyV shapes along the width direction are formed at upper ends of the pairof side walls, the pairs of rolling bearings are attached to the sidewalls at positions corresponding to bottoms of the recessed portionssuch that the rolling bearings project upward beyond inclined surfacesof the recessed portions, the roll support shaft includes a supportshaft main body that has a length corresponding to a distance betweenouter surfaces of the pair of side walls, and a pair of small-diameterportions that are provided at both ends of the support shaft main bodyand have smaller outer diameters than an outer diameter of the supportshaft main body, and the roll support shaft is supported with thesmall-diameter portions abutting on outer circumferential surfaces ofthe pairs of rolling bearings in a state in which the support shaft mainbody is located at an interval from the recessed portions.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mainbody includes a horizontal guide plate that is provided to project froma lower outer surface, and a pair of guide holes that are provided abovethe guide plate, the roll accommodation unit includes a bottom wall witha front surface on which the pair of side walls are provided to standfrom the bottom wall, a plurality of casters that are attached to a rearsurface of the bottom wall, a passage that is opened on a lower side ofthe bottom wall and extends along the bottom wall, a pair of guide railsthat extend along the passage at an interval corresponding to a width ofthe guide plate on both sides of the passage, an auxiliary roller thatis attached to a lower surface of the bottom wall at a center portion ofan inlet of the passage, a pair of guide pins that are paired with thepair of guide holes, and a stopper that secures the roll accommodationunit at a constant position to prevent the roll accommodation unit frommoving, and a height position of a ground contact surface of theauxiliary roller is lower than a height position of the guide plate.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, theprocessing apparatus includes: a hand lift that is for mounting the rollattached to the roll support shaft on the roll accommodation unit ordismounting the roll from the roll accommodation unit, in which the handlift includes an arm that is able to support a lower surface of the rollin a laterally placed state and is able to move upward and downward, thearm includes a roll support plate, which is attached to a distal end ofthe arm, on which the roll in the laterally placed state is placed, astopper plate, which is provided to stand from the roll support plate onone side and extends in a front-back direction of the roll supportplate, on which one end surface of the roll in the laterally placedstate abuts, a first rolling prevention plate, which is provided tostand from a front portion of the roll support plate and extends in aninclined manner in a left-right direction of the roll support plate andin a front upward orientation, on which a front portion of a lowersurface of the roll in the laterally placed state abuts, and a secondrolling prevention plate, which extends in an inclined manner inparallel with the first rolling prevention plate and in a back upwardorientation at an interval behind the first rolling prevention plate onthe roll support plate, on which a back portion of the lower surface ofthe roll in the laterally placed state abuts, and a position of thesecond rolling prevention plate is adjustable in the front-backdirection of the roll support plate.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pairof side walls are secured to the main body.

In order to solve the aforementioned problem, the present inventionprovides a roll setting method of a processing apparatus that includes aroll accommodation unit that accommodates a roll of a continuous sheetsuch that the roll is rotatable about a horizontal axis and a main bodythat pulls out the continuous sheet from the roll accommodation unit andperforms processing on the continuous sheet, the roll setting methodincluding: a separation step of separating the roll accommodation unitattached to the main body from the main body and causing the rollaccommodation unit to move; a setting step of setting the roll in theroll accommodation unit separated from the main body in the separationstep; and an attachment step of attaching the roll accommodation unitwith the roll set in the setting step to the main body.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in thesetting step, the roll is set by either a first setting method in whichan operator sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit or a secondsetting method in which a lift that is able to move the roll upward anddownward sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit.

According to the present invention, a bearing for the roll support shaftis not disposed at the roll support shaft but is disposed on a side onwhich the roll support shaft is received, and a portion with a largerdiameter than that of the roll support shaft is not provided on one ofboth ends of the roll support shaft (the other end side of the supportshaft main body; the side on which the flange portion and thelarge-diameter portion are not included).

Also, in a case in which the roll is attached to the roll support shaft,the roll support shaft is inserted into a core of the roll from theother end side of the support shaft main body, and the roll is thensecured to the roll support shaft.

On the other hand, in a case in which the roll is detached from the rollsupport shaft, securing of the roll to the roll support shaft isreleased, and the roll support shaft is then pulled out from the core ofthe roll.

It is thus possible to significantly easily attach and detach the rollto and from the roll support shaft in a short period of time.

Moreover, according to the present invention, the roll support shaft isfirst bridged over regions behind the recessed portions at a pair ofsupport walls when the roll support shaft with the roll attached theretois set at the pair of support walls of the roll accommodation unit. Atthis time, one end (a portion outside the flange portion) of the supportshaft main body and the other end of the support shaft main body comeinto contact with upper ends of the support walls.

Then, the roll support shaft is caused to roll around toward therecessed portions along with the roll. If the roll support shaft and theroll reach the recessed portions, then the roll support shaft and theroll down along the inclined surfaces of the recessed portions due totheir own weight, run on to a portion between the pairs of rollingbearings at the small-diameter portions at both ends of the roll supportshaft, and then stop.

In this manner, the roll is set at the pair of support walls.

Also, at this time, a state in which a related pair of rolling bearingsare pinched between the support shaft main body and the large-diameterportion on the one end side of the roll support shaft is brought about,and the roll support shaft does not deviate in an axial direction.

It is thus possible to significantly easily perform an operation ofloading the continuous sheet in the roll on the processing apparatus ina short period of time.

Further, in a case in which the roll accommodation unit is configuredwith the roll support shaft and the carriage, it is possible to separatethe roll accommodation unit from the continuous sheet processingapparatus (main body) as a unit that is independent from the continuoussheet processing apparatus (main body).

Also, when the roll is loaded on the continuous sheet processingapparatus, it is only necessary for the operator to separate thecarriage from the continuous sheet processing apparatus (main body),cause the carriage to move to a roll storage location, set a rollattached to the roll support shaft in the carriage at the location, thencause the carriage to move to the continuous sheet processing apparatus(main body), and attach the carriage to the continuous sheet processingapparatus (main body) again.

Also, when the roll is replaced, it is only necessary for the operatorto separate the carriage from the continuous sheet processing apparatus(main body), cause the carriage to a roll storage location, dismount theroll support shaft with the previous roll attached thereto from thecarriage at the location, detach the previous roll from the roll supportshaft, attach a new roll to the roll support shaft, set a support shaftwith the new roll attached thereto in the carriage, then cause thecarriage to move to the continuous sheet processing apparatus (mainbody), and attach the carriage to the continuous sheet processingapparatus (main body) again.

Since it is possible to easily attach and detach the roll accommodationunit to and from the continuous sheet processing apparatus (main body)and to quickly cause the roll accommodation unit to move, the operationof loading the roll on the roll accommodation unit can be performed at alocation where there is an enough working space separated from thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus (main body), and it is thuspossible to more easily perform the operation of loading the roll on thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus in a short period of time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1B show a diagram illustrating a roll accommodation unit of acontinuous sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, where FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating astate in which a roll support shaft has been set in a carriage, and FIG.1B is a perspective view of the roll support shaft;

FIG. 2A is an enlarged sectional view along the roll support shaft inFIG. 1A, and FIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of the roll support shaftand a pair of rolling bearings of the carriage in FIG. 1A;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a roll hasbeen attached to the roll support shaft in FIGS. 1A-1B;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating configurations of a couplingportion of the carriage in FIG. 1A and a carriage attachment portion ofa main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus correspondingto the coupling portion;

FIGS. 5A-5B show a side sectional view for explaining a method forattaching the carriage of the roll accommodation unit in FIG. 1A to themain body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus;

FIGS. 6A-6C show a diagram illustrating a hand lift of the continuoussheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment of thepresent invention, where FIG. 6A is a perspective view of an arm of thehand lift, FIG. 6B is an enlarged perspective view of a distal endportion of the arm, and FIG. 6C is a diagram similar to FIG. 6A, whichillustrates a state in which a roll is supported at the arm;

FIGS. 7A-7D show a perspective view for explaining a method of using thehand lift in FIGS. 6A-6C;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a roll accommodation unit of acontinuous sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a rollaccommodation unit of a continuous sheet processing apparatus in therelated art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, a configuration of the present invention will be describedon the basis of preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanyingdrawings.

FIGS. 1A-1B show a diagram illustrating a roll accommodation unit of acontinuous sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of thepresent invention, where FIG. 1A is a perspective view illustrating astate in which a roll support shaft has been set in a carriage, and FIG.1B is a perspective view of the roll support shaft. Also, FIG. 2A is anenlarged sectional view along the roll support shaft in FIG. 1A, andFIG. 2B is an enlarged side view of a pair of roll bearings of thecarriage and the roll support shaft in FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIGS. 1A-1B and 2A-2B, the continuous sheet processingapparatus according to the present invention includes a rollaccommodation unit 1 that accommodates a roll R of a continuous sheetsuch that the roll R is rotatable about a horizontal axis, and in thisembodiment, the roll accommodation unit 1 includes a roll support shaft2 to which the roll R of the continuous sheet is attached and a carriage3 that horizontally supports the roll support shaft 2 with the roll Rattached thereto such that the roll support shaft 2 is rotatable aboutan axis and is detachably attached to a main body of the continuoussheet processing apparatus.

The carriage 3 includes a bottom wall 5 with a rear surface to whichcasters 4 are attached at four corners and a pair of side walls 6 and 6that are provided to stand from a front surface of the bottom wall 5.The pair of side walls 6 and 6 are disposed in parallel at an intervalin a horizontal direction along the horizontal axis.

Also, recessed portions 7 with substantially V shapes when seen in adirection of perpendicularly crossing the pair of side walls 6 and 6(the left-right direction of the carriage 3) are formed at upper endcenter portions of the pair of side walls 6 and 6. The recessed portions7 are formed to have substantially V shapes along the width direction ofthe side walls 6 (the front-back direction of the carriage 3).

The carriage 3 further includes a pair of rolling bearings 8 a and 8 bthat are attached to a position corresponding to a bottom 7 a of therecessed portion 7 in the outer surface of each of the pair of sidewalls 6 and 6 such that the rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b face each otherin the front-back direction of the carriage 3 (the width direction ofthe V shape) and each of the rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b is rotatableabout the horizontal axis. The pair of rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b aredisposed at an interval in the width direction of the pair of side walls6 and 6 (the front-back direction of the carriage 3).

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, a clearance between the pair of rollingbearings 8 a and 8 b conforms to the bottom 7 a of the related recessedportion 7, the rolling bearing 8 a on the front side out of the pair ofrolling bearings 8 a and 8 b projects upward beyond an inclined surface7 b on the front side of the related recessed portion 7, and the rollingbearing 8 b on the rear side out of the pair of rolling bearings 8 a and8 b projects upward beyond an inclined surface 7 c on the rear side ofthe related recessed portion 7. In other words, the pairs of rollingbearings 8 a and 8 b are attached to the side walls 6 at the positionscorresponding to the bottoms 7 a of the recessed portions 7 such thatthe rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b project upward beyond the inclinedsurfaces of the recessed portions 7.

The roll support shaft 2 includes a support shaft main body 9 that has aconstant diameter and has a length corresponding to the distance betweenouter surfaces of the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3,small-diameter portions 10 a and 10 b that extend by a lengthcorresponding to the thickness of the rolling bearings 8 a and 8 bconcentrically from both ends of the support shaft main body 9, a flangeportion 11 that is provided at an interval corresponding to thethickness of the side walls 6 from one end 9 a of the support shaft mainbody 9 on the side of the other end 9 b, and a large-diameter portion 12that is concentrically adjacent to the small-diameter portion 10 a onthe side of the one end 9 a of the support shaft main body 9. Asillustrated in FIG. 2A, the outer diameters of the small-diameterportions 10 a and 10 b are smaller than the outer diameter of thesupport shaft main body 9. Also, the large-diameter portion 12 isdisposed to be adjacent to the roll support shaft 2 on the one end siderelative to the small-diameter portion 10 a and has a larger outerdiameter than that of the small-diameter portion 10 a.

The roll support shaft 2 can be supported between the pair of side walls6 and 6 of the carriage 3 in a state in which the small-diameterportions 10 a and 10 b at both ends abut on the outer circumferentialsurfaces of the pairs of rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b, and the supportshaft main body 9 is located at an interval from the recessed portions7.

In the illustrated embodiment, a cover 13 that protects the pair ofrolling bearings 8 a and 8 b is attached to an outer surface upperportion of each side wall 6 and extends in the front-back direction ofthe carriage 3, an opening 13 a is provided at a position in the upperportion of the cover 13 corresponding to the pair of rolling bearings 8a and 8 b, and the pair of rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b are exposed fromthe opening 13 a.

Note that the cover 13 does not come into contact with the roll supportshaft 2 that is bridged over the pair of side walls 6 and 6, and rolls.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the roll Rhas been attached to the roll support shaft 2.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the roll R is attached to the roll support shaft 2by the roll R being pinched between a pair of securing rings S that canbe secured to the roll support shaft 2 in this embodiment.

In other words, one of the securing rings S out of the pair of thesecuring rings S is fitted onto the roll support shaft 2 from the sideof the other end 9 b of the support shaft main body 9 and is secured ata predetermined position on the roll support shaft 2 in advance. Then,the roll support shaft 2 is inserted into the core of the roll R fromthe side of the other end 9 b of the support shaft main body 9 until theone of the securing rings S abuts on the end surface of the roll R, andthe other securing ring S out of the pair of securing rings S is thenfitted onto the roll support shaft 2 from the side of the other end 9 bof the support shaft main body 9 until the other securing ring S abutson the end surface of the roll R and is secured to the roll supportshaft 2.

Also, detachment of the roll R from the roll support shaft 2 isperformed by detaching the other securing ring S from the roll supportshaft 2 and then pulling out the roll support shaft 2 from the roll R.

Note that a mean for securing the roll R to the roll support shaft 2 isnot limited to that in the embodiment, and an appropriate, knownconfiguration may be included. For example, the roll R may be secured tothe roll support shaft 2 by pinching the roll R between the flangeportion 11 of the roll support shaft 2 and an appropriate securing toolthat can be secured to the roll support shaft 2 or the roll R may beprovided with a securing means.

It is thus possible to significantly easily perform attachment anddetachment of the roll R to and from the roll support shaft 2 in a shortperiod of time.

When the roll support shaft 2 with the roll R attached thereto is set inthe carriage 3, the roll support shaft 2 is first bridged over regionsbehind the recessed portions 7 in the pair of side walls 6 and 6 of thecarriage 3. At this time, the one end 9 a (a portion outside the flangeportion 11) and the other end 9 b of the support shaft main body 9 comeinto contact with upper ends of the side walls 6.

Then, the roll support shaft 2 is caused to roll around toward therecessed portion 7 along with the roll R. If the roll support shaft 2and the roll R reach the recessed portions 7, then the roll supportshaft 2 and the roll R roll down along the inclined surfaces 7 c on therear side of the recessed portions 7 due to their own weights, run on toa portion between the pairs of rolling bearings 8 a and 8 b at thesmall-diameter portions 10 a and 10 b at both ends of the roll supportshaft 2, and stop.

In this manner, the roll R is set in a state in which the roll R ispositioned relative to the carriage 3 in the front-back direction of thecarriage 3.

Also, at this time, a state in which the pair of rolling bearings 8 aand 8 b is pinched between the support shaft main body 9 and thelarge-diameter portion 12 is brought about on the side of one end of theroll support shaft 2 (the one end 9 a of the support shaft main body 9),and the roll support shaft 2 is prevented from being deviated in theaxial direction.

In this manner, the roll R is set in a state in which the roll R ispositioned relative to the carriage 3 in the left-right direction of thecarriage 3.

In this manner, it is possible to significantly easily set the roll R inthe carriage 3 in a short period of time.

The carriage 3 further includes a coupling portion 14 for detachablecoupling to the main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating configurations of a couplingportion of the carriage and a carriage attachment portion of thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus corresponding to the couplingportion.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a main body M of the continuous sheet processingapparatus is provided with a carriage attachment portion 15, and thecarriage attachment portion 15 includes a horizontal guide plate 15 aprovided to project from a lower outer surface of the main body M and apair of guide holes 15 b and 15 c provided above the guide plate 15 a onthe lower outer surface of the main body M and on both sides of theguide plate 15 a.

The coupling portion 14 of the carriage 3 includes a passage 16 that isopened on the lower side of the bottom wall 5 at a front end 3 a of thecarriage 3 and extends backward along the bottom wall 5 from the frontend 3 a and a pair of guide rails 17 and 17 that are provided to projectfrom both sides of an inner wall bottom surface 16 a of the passage 16at an interval corresponding to the width of the guide plate 15 a of thecarriage attachment portion 15.

The coupling portion 14 further includes an auxiliary roller 18 that isattached to the lower surface of the bottom wall 5 of the carriage 3 atthe center portion of the inlet of the passage 16 and is rotatable aboutan axis extending in the left-right direction of the carriage 3.

The height position of a ground contact surface of the auxiliary roller18 is lower than the height position of the guide plate 15 a of thecarriage attachment portion 15.

The coupling portion 14 further includes a pair of guide pins 19 a and19 b that are provided on both sides of the front end 3 a of thecarriage 3, project forward from the front end 3 a, and are paired withthe pair of guide holes 15 b and 15 c of the carriage attachment portion15 and a stopper 20 that secures the carriage 3 at a constant positionto prevent the carriage 3 from moving.

The stopper 20 includes an operating rod that is attached to the rearend of the carriage 3, projects downward from the carriage 3, and canmove upward and downward between a stopping position at which the distalend comes into pressure contact with a floor surface and a stoppingreleased position at which the distal end draws back on the side of thecarriage 3.

Although not illustrated, a handle can be detachably attached to therear end of the carriage 3.

FIGS. 5A-5B show a side sectional view for explaining a method ofattaching the carriage of the roll accommodation unit in FIGS. 1A-1B tothe main body of the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 5A, in a case in which the carriage 3 with the rollsupport shaft 2 and the roll R set therein is attached to the main bodyM of the continuous sheet processing apparatus, the carriage 3 is causedto advance forward toward the carriage attachment portion 15 in anarrangement in which the inlet of the passage 16 of the carriage 3conforms to the guide plate 15 a of the carriage attachment portion 15of the main body M of the continuous sheet processing apparatus and thepair of guide pins 19 a and 19 b of the carriage 3 conform to the pairof guide holes 15 b and 15 c of the carriage attachment portion 15.

During the motion of advancing forward, the guide plate 15 a of thecarriage attachment portion 15 is guided by the pair of guide rails 17and 17 of the carriage 3 and is then inserted into the passage 16, andthe auxiliary roller 18 of the carriage 3 runs on to the guide plate 15a (see FIG. 5B). At this time, the carriage 3 is supported at threepoints, namely the pair of casters 4 on the rear side and the auxiliaryroller 18.

At the same time, the pair of guide pins 19 a and 19 b of the carriage 3are inserted into the guide holes 15 b and 15 c of the carriageattachment portion 15.

Then, the stopper 20 of the carriage 3 is caused to move from thestopping released position to the stopping position, and the carriage 3is secured at the constant position to prevent the carriage 3 frommoving.

In this manner, the carriage 3 is attached to the main body M of thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus in a state in which the carriage 3is positioned relative to the main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus.

According to the present invention, it is possible to separate the rollaccommodation unit 1 from the main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus as a unit that is independent from the main body Mof the continuous sheet processing apparatus.

Also, when the roll is loaded on the continuous sheet processingapparatus, it is only necessary for the operator to separate thecarriage 3 from the main body M of the continuous sheet processingapparatus, cause the carriage 3 to move to a roll storage location(separation step), set the roll R attached to the roll support shaft 2in the carriage 3 at the location (setting step), then cause thecarriage 3 to move to the main body M of the continuous sheet processingapparatus, and attach the carriage 3 to the main body M of thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus again (attachment step).

Also, when the roll is replaced, it is only necessary for the operatorto separate the carriage 3 from the main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus, cause the carriage 3 to move to the roll storagelocation (separation step), dismount the roll support shaft 2 with theprevious roll R attached thereto from the carriage 3 at the location,detach the previous roll R from the roll support shaft 2, attach a newroll R to the roll support shaft 2, set the roll support shaft 2 withthe new roll R attached thereto in the carriage 3 (setting step), causethe carriage 3 to move to the main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus, and attach the carriage 3 to the main body M ofthe continuous sheet processing apparatus again (attachment step).

In this manner, it is possible to easily attach and detach the rollaccommodation unit 1 to and from the main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus, to quickly cause the roll accommodation unit 1 tomove, thereby to perform the operation of loading the roll R on the rollaccommodation unit 1 at a location with an enough working spaceseparated from the main body M of the continuous sheet processingapparatus, and thus to easily perform the operation of loading the rollR on the continuous sheet processing apparatus in a short period oftime.

According to another preferred embodiment of the present invention, thecontinuous sheet processing apparatus according to the present inventionfurther includes a hand lift 21 for mounting the roll R inserted intothe roll support shaft 2 on the carriage 3 or dismounting the roll Rfrom the carriage 3.

A configuration of the hand lift 21 is illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C. FIG.6A is a perspective view of an arm of the hand lift, FIG. 6B is anenlarged perspective view of a distal end portion of the arm, and FIG.6C is a diagram similar to FIG. 6A, which illustrates a state in whichthe roll is supported at the arm.

As illustrated in FIGS. 6A-6C, the hand lift 21 includes an arm 22 thatcan support the lower surface of the roll R in a laterally placed stateand can move upward and downward.

The arm 22 includes a roll support plate 22 a, which is attached to thedistal end of the arm 22, on which the roll R in the laterally placedstate is placed, and a stopper plate 22 b, which is provided to stand onone side of the roll support plate 22 a and extends in the front-backdirection of the roll support plate 22 a, on which one end surface ofthe roll R in the laterally placed state abuts.

The arm 22 further includes a first rolling prevention plate 22 c, whichis provided to stand from a front portion of the roll support plate 22 aand extends in an inclined manner in the left-right direction of theroll support plate 22 a and in a front upward orientation, on which thefront portion of the lower surface of the roll R in the laterally placedstate abuts, and a second rolling prevention plate 22 d, which extendsin an inclined manner in parallel with the first rolling preventionplate 22 c at an interval behind the first rolling prevention plate 22 con the roll support plate 22 a and in a back upward orientation, onwhich the rear portion of the lower surface of the roll R in thelaterally placed state abuts.

The second rolling prevention plate 22 d is attached to the roll supportplate 22 a using a magnetic force, for example, and the position thereofis adjustable in the front-back direction of the roll support plate 22a.

FIGS. 7A-7D is a perspective view for explaining a method of using thehand lift in FIGS. 6A-6C.

As illustrated in FIG. 7A, the roll R in a state in which the roll R isattached to the roll support shaft 2 is placed on the roll support plate22 a of the arm 22 of the hand lift 21, and the arm 22 then moves upwardup to a position that is higher than the pair of side walls of thecarriage 3. Then, the hand lift 21 approaches the carriage 3 from therear side, and the arm 22 enters a portion between the pair of sidewalls from the rear end of the carriage 3. The hand lift 21 stops at atiming at which the roll support shaft 2 reaches the clearance betweenthe pair of rolling bearings of the carriage 3 (see FIG. 7B).

Then, the arm 22 moves downward, and both ends of the roll support shaft2 (roll R) are placed on the pair of side walls (each of the pairs ofrolling bearings) of the carriage 3 (see FIG. 7C). Thereafter, the handlift 21 is separated on the rear side of the carriage 3, and themounting of the roll R on the carriage 3 is completed.

It is possible to efficiently perform the operation of mounting the rollR on the carriage 3 or dismounting the roll R from the carriage 3 byincluding the hand lift 21, and further, a burden on the operator isreduced.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a roll accommodation unit of acontinuous sheet processing apparatus according to another embodiment ofthe present invention.

The embodiment in FIG. 8 is different only in that a roll support shaftis set in a structure secured to the continuous sheet processingapparatus while the roll support shaft is set in a movable object(carriage) that can be separated from the continuous sheet processingapparatus in the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B. Therefore, the same numberswill be applied to the same components in FIG. 8 as those in FIGS.1A-1B, and detailed description thereof will be omitted below.

Referring to FIG. 8 , a roll accommodation unit 1 includes a rollsupport shaft 2 (with the same configuration as that in the example inFIG. 1 ) to which a roll R is attached and a pair of roll support arms23 and 23 that are secured to a main body M of the continuous sheetprocessing apparatus in this embodiment.

Also, each of upper portions of the pair of roll support arms 23 and 23has the same configuration as that of the upper portions of the pair ofside walls 6 and 6 of the carriage 3 in the embodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B.

Even in this embodiment, it is possible to perform the attachment of theroll R to the roll support shaft 2 similarly to the case of theembodiment in FIGS. 1A-1B and further to set the roll support shaft 2with the roll R attached thereto at the pair of roll support arms 23 and23 similarly to the case in which the roll support shaft 2 with the rollR attached thereto is set in the carriage 3 in the embodiment in FIGS.1A-1B.

Although the configuration of the present invention has been describedabove on the basis of the preferred embodiments, it is a matter ofcourse that the configuration of the present invention is not limited tothe aforementioned embodiments and those skilled in the art can contrivevarious modifications within the scope defined by the accompanyingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A roll setting method of a processing apparatusthat includes a roll accommodation unit that accommodates a roll of acontinuous sheet such that the roll is rotatable about a horizontal axisand a main body that pulls out the continuous sheet from the rollaccommodation unit and performs processing on the continuous sheet, theroll setting method comprising: a separation step of separating the rollaccommodation unit attached to the main body from the main body andcausing the roll accommodation unit to move; a setting step of settingthe roll in the roll accommodation unit separated from the main body inthe separation step; and an attachment step of attaching the rollaccommodation unit with the roll set in the setting step to the mainbody.
 2. The roll setting method according to claim 1, wherein in thesetting step, the roll is set by either a first setting method in whichan operator sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit or a secondsetting method in which a lift that is able to move the roll upward anddownward sets the roll in the roll accommodation unit.
 3. The rollsetting method according to claim 2, wherein in the second settingmethod, an arm of the lift moves upward up to a position that is higherthan the roll accommodation unit, the lift approaches the rollaccommodation unit, and the arm of the lift moves downward to place theroll on the roll accommodation unit.